Harbour porpoise

 

Name:
Harbour porpoise
Scientific name:
Phocoena phocoena
Distribution:
Coastal waters of the northern hemisphere in the Atlantic and Pacific, also in the western and northern Baltic Sea
Description:
Compared to other toothed whales, the rostrum is much shorter
Weight and size:
Up to 90 kg and 180 cm in length
Lifespan:
Approx. 23 years
Diet:
Fish (herring, goby, cod, sole, sand eel), crustaceans
Predator:
Grey seals, great white shark
Threatened by:
Noise pollution, gill-net fisheries
IUCN red list status:
Least concern, Baltic Sea subpopulation is critically endangered
Special features:
The only cetacean species found in the Baltic Sea with two spatially separated populations.
Recent research projects:
Germany, 2012, Dähne, researchers are investigating effects of pile-driving on harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) at the first offshore wind farm in Germany
Netherlands, 2015, Leopold, researchers are observing predation of harbour porpoises by grey seals
Photo Harbour porpoise © Peter Verhoog/Fjord&Baelt